POWERNERD – noun
1. A person of any gender who has, through tenacity and perseverance, turned what society may deem as a ‘weakness’ into a superpower.
2. A total fucking badass.
3. You.
Devin Townsend releases his forthcoming new studio album ‘PowerNerd’ on the 25th October 2024 (InsideOutMusic). Devin Townsend’s career is one of many distinct eras. He’s been the leader of Strapping Young Lad, the lynchpin of the Devin Townsend Project and the co-architect of country duo Casualties of Cool, all while maintaining his prolific and lauded solo project. Now, the polymath’s newest era starts with ‘PowerNerd’.
He presents the uplifting new single ‘Gratitude’, together with a video that follows Devin exploring the beautiful Canadian woodland.
Devin comments: “Gratitude is a simple song in the vein of ‘Life’ or ‘Stagnant’ (from Ocean Machine and Terria, respectively) that acts as a simple way to continue the theme of PowerNerd. During the making of this album, there were a lot of hurdles that we went through as a family, and the tendency to look at ones lot in life from the vantage point of being a ‘victim’ seems to be an easy hole to fall into. I wrote this song during a very difficult time, yet the idea of gratitude is not meant to be ironic in any way. I’m grateful for the lessons, I’m grateful for the swings and roundabouts of life, I’m here for it. Retaining equilibrium during challenging times is a job in and of itself, and in a sea of nihilistic thoughts, having ones creative output as a tangible expression of gratitude is in many ways the whole point for me at this stage. In any event: I feel like I’m dumb as a rock, and life is so incredible and absurd, that I just feel the urge to say ‘Thank you’ for all of it. If the quality of people who surround me and this work is of any indication, we’re pointed in the right direction. Thanks =)”
“It was a conscious thing,” Devin says of his brand-new album, the music on which he wrote in just 11 days. “I thought, ‘I’ve spent so much time overthinking every aspect of my work – what would happen if I didn’t?’ Maybe I would have the opportunity to be a bit more direct with what it is that I’m trying to do. I really wanted to see if I could cut through some of the meandering.”
However, that aggression is far from the only thing to come from PowerNerd’s 11 episodic tracks. ‘Dreams of Light’, by comparison, is an evocative and dynamic four-minute ballad. ‘Younger Lover’ calms down from an explosive opening to lush verses of synths and singing, whereas ‘Falling Apart’ adds texture after texture on top of a dulcet, acoustic introduction.
WherePowerNerd’s music was written in less than a fortnight, its lyrics were refined over a far longer period of time into a narrative about strength and healing. On ‘Falling Apart’, Devin commands himself to “keep the tension under control”. “You’ve got to believe that things will only get better,” subsequent song “Gratitude” powerfully declares. These uplifting messages even play into the record’s title.
Devin offers as a definition: “I would say that a powernerd would be somebody that has a tendency that society has deemed weak or not valuable, whether that’s empathy or being an insular person or an introvert, and turns that into a type of personal power. It’s like, ‘OK, yeah, I’m sensitive to this, that and the other thing, but man, I am going to pull through! I am going to do things with that sensitivity that are rooted in strength.
1. PowerNerd
2. Falling Apart
3. Knuckledragger
4. Gratitude
5. Dreams of Light
6. Ubelia
7. Jainism
8. Younger Lover
9. Glacier
10. Goodbye
11. Ruby Quaker
‘PowerNerd’ will be available on several different formats, including a Limited 2CD+Blu-ray Artbook (featuring the album, bonus tracks and Devin’s first ever Dolby Atmos mix), Limited 2CD Digipak in O-card, Standard CD, Gatefold 2LP & Digital Album. The full tracklisting for the main album is as follows:
Stream the tracks and pre-order the album here: https://devin-townsend.lnk.to/PowerNerd
Devin’s only live performances of 2024, will be performing acoustically on tour as support to Myles Kennedy in the UK. You can find the full list of dates below:
25th November – SWG3, Glasgow
27th November – Manchester Academy, Manchester
29th November – Rock City, Nottingham
30th November – O2 Academy, Birmingham
2nd December – Cardiff University Students’ Union, Cardiff
3rd December – O2 Forum Kentish Town, London